Seth Greenberg contract extended at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg, who has become synonymous with Hokies basketball and has helped build a basketball culture at a school most known for its football program, agreed on Friday to an extension for the remaining four years of his contract, plus an additional two years.

With tireless recruiting and branding efforts, Greenberg, who has just completed his seventh season in Blacksburg, has built a basketball program that was once an afterthought. Although the Hokies have only been to the NCAA tournament once under Greenberg, in 2007, they were on the cusp in each of the past three seasons and have earned post-season berths in five of the seven seasons.

In addition to adding stability to the building program, the announcement extinguishes the widely reported rumors about Greenberg's coaching future. Last week, St. John's fired its coach, Norm Roberts, and reports surfaced out of New York that the program would target Greenberg, a Long Island native, as its next coach.

"I am excited to be afforded the opportunity to continue to build the basketball program at Virginia Tech," Greenberg said in a statement. "What makes Virginia Tech so special is the people and their passion for the University. My family has embraced all that the University stands for and I feel this is where I belong."

Greenberg routinely said that he and his family were happy at Virginia Tech and never seemed likely to leave. Two of his daughters currently attend the university and regularly stop by his office to study or join him for lunch. His youngest daughter is in high school in the Blacksburg area.

Greenberg is also something of a cult figure on campus, where he hosts regular "Chalk Talk" sessions with students at dining commons.

"I am pleased that Coach Greenberg will continue his mission at Virginia Tech and will lead the Hokies for the next six seasons," Athletic Director Jim Weaver said in a statement. "He has done an outstanding job in creating a program and environment that has the Hokies competitive year in and year out in the ACC

In a telephone interview earlier on Friday, Weaver said St. John's had not asked him for permission to interview Greenberg for the opening.

Regardless of his courtship by other universities, Greenberg was due for a pay raise at Virginia Tech. Two years ago, Greenberg was signed to a six-year contract. The financial terms of that contract were only solidified through the first two years of that deal. Now that those two years have passed, Weaver and Greenberg were due to negotiate the financial terms of the final four years of the coach's contract.

The financial terms of Greenberg's new contract will be released within the next 10 days to two weeks, when the contractual responsibilities have been finalized and signed.

St. John's was reportedly ready to pay its next coach $1.5 million. Greenberg earned $950,000 last season.